Cricketsong
by V. Thomas
Summary: Cricketkit was born lucky.


**This story was requested by *CricketSong* of the Warrior Cats Forum. The information I was given is as follows.**

Character Name: Cricketsong

Character Physical Description: Cricketsong is a darkish brown tabby she-cat with dark brown (almost black) stripes. She has inquisitive green eyes. Her left front paw is white, and she has a white rhombus/spot on her chest. She is well muscled but sleek.

Character Personality: Very loyal, a good hunter, intelligent, swift, short-tempered, sweet, humorous, sensitive, fierce, thoughtful.

Family: Her father is a smoky gray tabby tom, mother is a tortoiseshell, brother is a gray tom, sister died (was a calico). I never really gave them names. You don't have to.

Clan: RiverClan or ThunderClan

Final Rank in Clan: Well I hope to die as an elder if that's what you mean.

Mate: Flarefoot, ginger tabby tom with one white forepaw and blue eyes. Protective, brave, and strategic. But I love Brackenfur from the books so you could use him.

Kits: Kits with Flarefoot = Buckeyekit (a bold light brown tabby tom with green eyes) and Poplarkit (a mischievous tortoiseshell she-kit with blue eyes). But if you are shipping me with Brackenfur, you can make some up.

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Warriors series.**

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Cricketkit was born lucky. Brought into RiverClan in the middle of leafbare, when the river was frozen over and the sky a great expanse of gray, she and her siblings were not expected to survive. The cold was almost intolerable, even for those cats with the thickest of fur, and prey was scarce; the fish were trapped beneath snow and ice. Greencough ran rampant in the Clan, yet Cricketkit and her siblings clung to life, nestled in the curve of their mother's belly until newleaf arrived.

As the river thawed and the floods came, Cricketkit tumbled out of the nursery beside Splashkit and Otterkit. Splashkit was almost an exact copy of their father, Smokeheart. They were both gray toms with wide paws and thick fur. Otterkit, on the other hand, was a petite calico she-cat with green eyes. She was quite similar to their mother, Patchwing, who was a slender tortoiseshell. Only the great amounts of white on Otterkit's fluffy coat distinguished her as more than a clone.

Cricketkit did not share her parent's features so clearly, though. With her dark brown fur and the nearly-black tabby stripes adorning her pelt, she did not immediately resemble her mother or father. There was a vaguely rhombus-shaped patch of snowy fur on her chest, and her left forepaw was that same, clear white. Her mother's sleek build and green eyes, both passed on to Cricketkit, were the only things that hinted at the young she-cat's heritage. She did not mind, though, and soon saw herself very clearly as her own cat rather than a copy of her parents.

All through newleaf and into greenleaf, Cricketkit watched her Clanmates come and go. When the apprentices tussled in front of their den, she observed intently, oftentimes attempting to emulate their skills. Other times she would watch as the warriors return from patrolling RiverClan territory, jaws bursting with fresh-kill. The different scents, some from the hunt, some from the border, and still others unknown, made Cricketkit giddy with eagerness to become an apprentice.

This wasn't to say she and her littermates avoided trouble, though. The three kits had a tendency to stray quite close to the camp entrance, and had to be shuffled back to the nursery each time they were caught trying to sneak away. With a knowing gleam in her eye, Patchwing would give them a thorough scolding and washing before confining them to their nests. The next day, though, they would be out and about, often just to "give it one more go," as Splashkit always said.

As such, the days passed by. In the middle of greenleaf, though, when the sun blazed high above, it was time for a change. At the beckoning of Froststar, Cricketkit and her siblings stepped forward to take their places as RiverClan apprentices. Rushtail was named as Otterpaw's mentor, and Splashpaw was to be taught by Heronclaw. Cricketpaw, with her peculiar luck coming into play, was named as Blackmoon's apprentice.

Blackmoon was a stoic black tom who happened to be both the Clan's best fisher and their deputy. By nature he said very little, and when that was combined with his impressive size, Cricketpaw found herself somewhat intimidated. She was unable to answer much more than "yes" or "no" on their first day of training, so petrified she was by his amber gaze. It seemed downright impossible to tell what the black tom was thinking when she looked his way, and since she was unable to discern what Blackmoon thought of her and her actions, she grew enormously self-conscious of all her actions. Cricketpaw did everything she could to keep her movements sharp and swift during battle training, and moved with careful, silent steps while hunting.

As it turned out, she was a fine hunter. Blackmoon, for all his unreadable mannerisms, successfully passed on his fishing skills to the young she-cat. What talent he lacked in hunting other creatures Cricketpaw made up for by watching cats other than her mentor as they stalked water voles and mice. She diligently worked to copy their techniques until she was regarded as the best hunter among her fellow apprentices.

As leafbare crept towards the Clans once more, tragedy struck. Greencough raged through RiverClan, confining far too many cats to their nests as the cold settled in. Even some of the strongest warriors succumbed to the illness, retiring to their nests with runny noses and great coughs that wracked their bodies. Hunting was more difficult than ever between the sick cats and the snowfall that never seemed to end. RiverClan was growing sicker and thinner with each day that went by.

Somehow, Splashpaw remained healthy through leafbare. He dodged greencough long enough for a cure to be administered, and continued his training all the while, nearly full-grown and ready for a warrior name. His sisters were not so fortunate. Otterpaw was hit first and hit hardest. Small in size as it was, greencough left her emaciated and weak. She could not leave her nest, and barely spoke. Most of the time, she slept and coughed miserably. Cricketpaw was much the same, if a little stronger. She was kept in the medicine den with Otterpaw, and Cherrywhisker constantly tried to keep them fed and hydrated. In the end, though, the medicine cat also fell prey to the sickness, and Otterpaw did not get the assistance she needed. Even as the Clan was slowly recovering, she perished, too ill to go on. Cricketpaw was entering convalescence when this happed, and soon relapsed in her grief. It was a dark time for the tabby she-cat.

When she rose from her nest in the medicine den, newleaf was beginning to appear in little bursts. Snow was melting, leaves were growing. Splashpaw was still training, but Otterpaw was gone. Cricketpaw felt as if there were a gaping hole in her heart because of this. But there was no time to remain upset. RiverClan needed to recover, and they needed warriors. As such, Splashpaw and Cricketpaw were to receive warrior names.

At the insistence of Froststar, Splashpaw took the name Splashfur and was commended for his diligence and faith. Cricketpaw, head bowed for Otterpaw, was called up after her brother. To her surprise, Froststar whispered words of encouragement to her before calling out to the Clan. "She is watching and she is proud," the white she-cat told Cricketpaw, amber eyes warm with understanding. Following that, she lifted her chin and praised Cricketpaw for her loyalty and hunting ability.

"Cricketpaw, from this moment onward, you will be known as Cricketsong, a full warrior of RiverClan." And so it was that Cricketsong took her warrior name and sat vigil beside her brother until the sun peeked over the tops of the reeds the following morning. All night long she thought of how Otterpaw ought to have shared that moment, but as fatigue overcame her near sun-up, she finally let it slip away, finally accepted that it was time to honor Otterpaw rather than mourn her.

In the following moons, Cricketsong pushed herself to be the best warrior she could be. She joined every hunting patrol that she could, looked after as many kits that tumbled her way during sunhigh. All in all, she tried to make herself an integral part of her Clan, and this was where luck struck again.

One day, near the tail end of greenleaf, she and a handful of other warriors were patrolling the SkyClan border. It was only a routine check, nothing more, and so they were all startled to find a battle patrol charging towards them that day. With no other choice but to meet the outstretched claws of the SkyClan cats, Cricketsong and the other patrol members rushed into battle, eyes blazing and teeth bared.

Cricketsong ended up tangling with a pale gray tabby who was extraordinary flexible. He twisted out of her grip more than once to slash at her ears and nose, but Cricketsong doggedly pursued him. She would not stand for losing to a tom who was no bigger than she was, and refused to let her Clan down. Time after time, she flung herself at him until she finally pinned him down. Raking her claws along his back, she only let him go once he screeched for mercy, and then he streaked back across the border.

Turning, though, she found one of her Clanmates was locked in a furious struggle with a large white tom. It was Flarefoot, a ginger tom with one white paw and clear blue eyes. She didn't know him as well as she knew some of the other warriors, but still threw herself at the white tom in order to save him from being pushed into the river.

In this way, she met her mate.

They became fast friends after they drove off the SkyClan patrol. Flarefoot, a kind tom who would do anything for his loved ones, admitted that he admired her spunk in battle, and Cricketsong in turn confessed that she liked Flarefoot's skill.

"The only flaw in your plan before I stepped in was that you were both going to end up in the river," she told him cheekily when he said he'd been aiming to toss the white tom into the rushing water. Flarefoot purred in amusement at this and replied with a small remark about having not planned as well as he thought he had.

From that moment onward, the pair was inseparable and hopelessly devoted to one another. It was hardly a shock when it was announced that Cricketsong was expecting kits, and as she gave birth, no one was surprised that Flarefoot had to be held back from the nursery. Immediately afterward he darted in to see his mate cradling two little kits close to her belly, and he laid down behind her to groom her ears.

"They are _beautiful,_" he informed her, certainly meaning it. His eyes shone with pride as he looked down at his children, and Cricketsong managed an exhausted chuckle.

"I'm too tired to see it. They'll look beautiful in the morning," she responded, tail falling over the little mewling bundles.

In the end, they named the small brown tabby tom Buckeyekit. He proved to be energetic and quite courageous, like his father. They shared a similar love of facing the world head on. Poplarkit, who took on her maternal grandmother's tortoiseshell pelt, was similarly adventurous, but more sly about it. She preferred to sneak around to play her tricks rather than boldly go where Buckeyekit tended to go. As such, Cricketsong was immensely proud of her kits. She tried to teach them all she could before they became apprentices, whether it be explaining a hunting technique or just telling them a joke that they might pass on to their own kits. She acquainted them with Smokeheart and Patchwing, both of whom were growing in age. White streaked the muzzles of Cricketsong's parents, but they still showered their daughter and their grandchildren in affection.

The moons went by. Cricketsong left the nursery as her children were apprenticed and promptly spent the night curled beside her mate. For the rest of their lives, they did this. Flarefoot laid his head on his paws and Cricketsong would rest her muzzle on the ginger tom's shoulders. Together they would sleep through the night, neither one awoken by movement from the other. They were in perfect harmony. Not only that, but they stood by one another unconditionally. When Flarefoot lost his mother, Silverstripe, Cricketsong sat by his side throughout the vigil, tail laid over his shoulders in silent support. When Patchwing and Smokeheart passed away, Flarefoot took on the role of the comforting mate instead. They existed as a whole in the grand scheme of things. In battle they fought together, in grief they sat together, and even in death they were together.

Cricketsong's life ended similarly as it began, with a bitter leafbare and an outbreak of greencough. While she had withstood it in her younger moons, she was now an elder, as was Flarefoot. Not as strong as they once were, both fell mortally ill. Flarefoot passed into StarClan first, and Cricketsong followed him a mere sunrise later. From the bright fields of StarClan they watched RiverClan recover and flourish, always recounting old battles and patrols until they could recount them no more. Reunited with lost friends and family, they rejoiced, and all was well.


End file.
